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Norton 360 Antivirus Review (2020): Is it Actually Worth it?

Norton has been around for decades, but it’s a much different antivirus than it was 15 years ago. So how does it compete in today’s world of cybersecurity software? I’ve tested 47 different antivirus programs, and without question, Norton is my #1 pick for best all-around internet security package of 2020. Norton 360 comes with 100% guaranteed virus protection and adds a strong set of extra features — my favorites are the password manager, VPN (virtual private network), cloud storage, and parental controls. In terms of security features, ease-of-use, and value, Norton 360 is practically perfect. And after seeing Norton’s latest discount, along with a 60-day money-back guarantee, this is hands-down my favorite antivirus on the market.

Norton 360 Security Features

I’m going to give a detailed analysis of each of these features. For a full overview of everything Norton 360 has to offer, see the Plans and Pricing section below.

Device Security

Norton consistently ranks among the top-performing cybersecurity products on the market, and there’s no question that it’s a powerful antivirus application. Norton achieved perfect results defending my computer against the 17 different malware tests I ran on it — comparable to other big names like Bitdefender and McAfee.

My first-hand testing confirmed Norton’s excellent antivirus reputation. I also found Norton’s security tools to be lightweight, fast, and easy to use. There’s no doubt in my mind that Norton deserves top marks in malware protection.

If your device is infected, and Norton can’t remove the virus, you could get a full refund under Norton’s “Virus Protection Promise”. This is a generous offer — McAfee and Comodo have a similar policy, but few other brands offer a guarantee like this.

Cloud Backup is convenient — you can easily access your files across your phone, your home computer, your work computer, or anywhere you can access the internet. You won’t lose access to your data if your computer gets damaged, lost, or stolen.

But besides convenience, there’s another reason that Norton offers cloud storage — to protect against ransomware.

Hackers can use ransomware to encrypt your files and force you to pay for the decryption key. Cloud Backup is a way to defend against this threat. If your files are safely backed-up on Norton’s servers, it won’t matter so much if the originals get encrypted.

Like most of Norton’s features, Cloud Backup is very user-friendly. When setting up Cloud Backup, Norton let me choose which files to back up, where to back them up,and how often.

You can schedule backups on a weekly or monthly basis. But most impressive is the “automatic backup” option — Norton can back up my files whenever I’m not using my computer. This minimizes the chance of losing any data, without causing any slowdown.

In short, Norton Cloud Backup is an excellent cloud storage service.

I already have some cloud storage space with Dropbox and Google Drive. However, I found Norton’s Cloud Backup feature to be superior to even those well-known services — mostly because of how easy it was to back up my files automatically.

Parental Control

My child isn’t yet old enough to go online independently, but I’ve been shopping around for high-quality online parental control software in preparation for that fateful day! I believe that quality parental control software is an essential investment for any parent. And Norton offers the best parental controls I’ve ever tested.

My first step in setting up Norton Parental Control was to create a profile for my child. Norton provides presets for four different age groups. Younger children should have very strict controls, whereas older children need a little more freedom.

I named my child “Child 1”, and I set her age range at 12-14 years old. Norton also offers more detailed customization options if you want them, but I kept them at the defaults.

Once I’d set up Parental Control on my computer, Norton prompted me to install the “Norton Family” app on my child’s device.

I then used the Parental Control feature to limit how much time Child 1 could spend on her device per day. I also imposed a curfew, which disables some apps after a certain time of day.

Here’s what Norton displayed on Child 1’s device when I tried to use an app after the curfew time:

This might seem a little strict. However, children can access the “House Rules” at any time to see how Parental Control monitors and restricts their behavior.

I couldn’t find a way to turn this “House Rules” function off on Child 1’s device. In my view, this is a good thing. In my opinion, it’s important to be open with your child about using any sort of parental control software.

I also received an email to let me know what Child 1 had been doing on her device that week.

Norton offers a lot of details about your child’s online activity. However, Norton Parental Control will not help you spy on your kids’ communications. There is software available for this (such as the keylogging software, Kidlogger). But I much prefer Norton’s respectful approach.

Kaspersky Total Protection also has a good parental control feature. However, I find Norton to be much more intuitive than Kaspersky. Norton Parental Control never felt complicated, despite offering extremely detailed customization options.

Norton’s Parental Control feature is only available with one of the plans offering support for multiple devices, like Norton 360 Deluxe and Norton 360 Premium. If you’re a parent, I strongly recommend investing in one of these plans — this feature alone makes it worth the upgrade.

Secure VPN

A VPN (virtual private network) hides your IP address, using a process called “tunneling” to make your IP address (i.e. your physical location) hidden — it’s also encrypted, making it impossible for hackers to spy on you while using the internet. Whether you’re trying to avoid data scraping ISPs, protect against hackers on public Wi-Fi networks, download sensitive files, or unblock geo-restricted streaming content, a VPN is an essential tool.

Norton Secure VPN has a strict “no log” policy. This means that Norton doesn’t record your browsing history when you use its VPN, keeping your online activity truly private. Some VPN companies — especially free ones — track your browsing history, but the internet traffic sent through Norton Secure VPN is highly encrypted. This means that even if someone did intercept your traffic, they’d be unable to see what you’re doing.

A VPN also lets you hide your true location by connecting to secure servers all around the world, so you can access online content that’s unavailable where you live. I used Norton’s VPN to access USA Netflix even though I live in the UK. Norton Secure VPN has servers in over 30 countries, which is a lot. For comparison, McAfee’s VPN has servers across 22 countries, and Kaspersky’s only has servers across 18 countries.

Another great thing about Norton Secure VPN is that it lets you use unlimited data. Many other antivirus companies place data limits on their VPNs — Kaspersky (300 MB per day), Bitdefender (200 MB per day), and Panda (150 MB per day, with unlimited access on the most expensive plan).

But it’s not all great — a VPN can slow down your internet speed. I ran a few speed tests on Norton Secure VPN with the internet speed testing service Ookla.

First, I tested the speed of my broadband connection without the VPN running.

Next, I connected to Norton Secure VPN. I chose a server in the United Kingdom — my actual location — which was likely to be the fastest virtual location, but I still expected the VPN to slow my speed a little.

Next, I tried connecting to a server in France. I expected this to be a little slower than with my UK test, but not much because France is pretty close to where I live.

My download speed slowed to 16.44 Mbps, which was barely any slower than when I connected to the server in the UK — still a pretty good speed.

Next, I tried connecting via the United States. This is a long way from home, but a good location for accessing the latest movies and TV shows.

Connecting via the United States gave me a download rate of just 2.40 Mbps. Ouch! This is fine for regular web browsing, but not good enough for even Standard Definition video. My upload rate was (weirdly) much higher, at 5.45 Mbps.

Norton’s VPN is disappointingly slow. Kaspersky’s VPN is faster (it uses the well-known VPN provider Hotspot Shield), as is TotalAV’s (which uses Windscribe). But there are drawbacks with these other brands — Kaspersky’s VPN has strict data limits, and TotalAV’s VPN costs extra.

But despite its poor speeds, Norton’s VPN will serve most users well. The “no log” privacy policy and unlimited data are significant advantages to many competitors. It’s also easy to use, and it’s included with all plans. Unless you want to use it to stream ultra-HD video from a server in the US, you should find it suits your needs just fine.

Automatically change passwords on over 60 sites including Facebook, Amazon, and eBay.

Autofill login details, addresses, and payment information as you browse the web.

Norton Password Manager runs as a web app in your browser. I tested it on both Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. Keep in mind that I’ve tested many password managers, so my standards are very high.

After installing the Password Manager Browser extension, Norton helped me create my Password Vault. The first step is to create a vault password, and Norton immediately tells you how strong your password is.

Once I had created my vault password, Norton took me to my Password Vault.

The Password Vault has a clear and simple interface. The “Safety Dashboard” tool gives you an overall score for the strength of your passwords. Along with login credentials, you can also store payment details, addresses, and notes in the Password Vault.

Norton Password Manager also has an “Autochange Password” feature. It can automatically change your password on compatible sites with just one click. This works on over 60 sites, including Facebook, Amazon, and eBay.

Features like Norton’s Autochange Password are very rare, even among the best password managers on the market. It’s really impressive that Norton Password Manager can do this.

As far as I’m aware, only Dashlane and LastPass offer a similar feature. Dashlane’s version is more developed, and works on over 300 sites. However, LastPass’s version only works on 50 sites — fewer than Norton Password Manager.

Like most password managers, Norton Password Manager also automatically detects username and password fields as you browse the web.

I found that Norton didn’t fill my passwords immediately. First I had to click the icon it had placed inside the password field. Norton says this is a security measure. This seems sensible — I wouldn’t want my passwords automatically sent to unverified websites.

When I entered a password that wasn’t saved in my Password Vault, Norton automatically offered to save it:

Norton can also autofill addresses and payment information that you have saved in your Password Vault. I did have a little trouble with this feature at first, but I got it working eventually.

Norton provides a Password Generator to create strong new passwords. This offers a good level of customization — you can create a password with up to 64 characters, including any combination of upper-case and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols.

Norton Password Manager is truly impressive. However, it isn’t quite up to the standard of the best password managers. Dashlane, for example, offers secure password sharing, emergency access, and a range of 2-factor authentication options on all of its plans.

But if you’re new to password managers, Norton Password Manager is definitely worth using. It’s a great addition to all Norton 360 plans with no restrictions. Compare Norton’s offering to Kaspersky’s password manager, which only lets you save 15 passwords — unless you pay for Kaspersky’s top-priced plan.

Norton 360 Plans and Pricing

When it comes to plans and pricing, Norton does things a little differently compared to most other antivirus companies.

Norton offers three plans, and pretty much every feature is available across each of them. The two more expensive plans offer more licenses, more Cloud Storage space, and access to the Parental Control feature.

This pricing structure means every Norton customer gets the best that Norton has to offer, and there’s no annoying upselling that you find in some other brands like AVG. While there’s no free option, all of Norton’s 360 plans include a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Compare Norton’s pricing structure to TotalAV’s, which denies access to important features even on its top-priced plan. Or Panda’s, which doesn’t protect its lower-paying customers against ransomware. I think Norton definitely has the best approach here.

Note that this review is about Norton’s international product line. There’s a slightly different offer for US customers. For US customers, all the core features are the same. As an added bonus, some US plans alsoinclude Norton’s identity-theft protection product — Norton LifeLock. There are also some minor differences around the number of licenses and the amount of Cloud Storage space, but other than that, it’s basically identical.

Basic Plan: Norton 360 Standard

Norton 360 Standard offers the following features (PC, Mac, smartphone, or tablet):

1 device.

Protection against all types of malware, including viruses, spyware, and ransomware. Includes customizable, on-demand scans and real-time protection.

PC Cloud Backup (10 GB).

Secure VPN.

Norton Password Manager.

Norton Smart Firewall for PC and Mac.

100% Virus Protection Promise.

SafeCam for PC — prevents unauthorized access to your webcam.

This is a complete internet security package. It’s the most generous bottom-tier antivirus product that I’m aware of. Most antivirus companies only offer their lowest-paying companies basic malware protection, but Norton packs in lots of valuable extra features.

If you only have one computer, and you don’t have kids, you could save some money by choosing this plan. However, with only 1 license, you wouldn’t get access to the excellent Norton Mobile Security app — unless you use your 1 license on your mobile device, but it would be cheaper to just buy the Mobile Security license directly (or upgrade to the Deluxe plan).

Best Value: Norton 360 Deluxe

Norton 360 Deluxe offers all the same features as Norton 360 Standard, plus:

5 licenses (in total).

50 GB of storage (in total) with the Cloud Backup feature.

Access to the Parental Control feature.

Because Norton’s basic package is so good, this also might not seem like a whole lot of extra features.

However, this is a big increase in value — 5 times more licenses, 5 times more storage space, and access to arguably the best parental control software on the market. You can also use one or more of your licenses to install Norton Mobile Security.

Parents with smaller families should definitely make the upgrade to Norton 360 Deluxe, if only for access to the Parental Control feature and support for more devices.

Norton 360 Ease of Use

It’s actually hard to believe that Norton once had a reputation for being sluggish and complicated. This certainly isn’t true anymore. Norton has spent the past several years developing one of the most easy-to-use and efficient antivirus applications on the market.

Installing the software takes just a few minutes, and then Norton gives you a guided tour to help you set everything up.

Another great thing about Norton is that it offers 2 interfaces — “My Norton” and “Classic”. This is presumably to keep long-standing customers happy who have grown accustomed to the old interface, but it’s nice to have two options.

Here’s how Norton’s “Classic” interface looks:

If you want to make the most of the software, Norton offers a great level of customization. You can exclude certain folders or types of files from scans to save time. You can also schedule automated tasks, such as clearing your browser history or backing up your files.

But while it’s great to have all these options, most people don’t need to worry about them. Norton can handle this stuff for you, and it keeps everything simple by default.

My one minor complaint about Norton’s user-interface is that there’s no desktop application for Norton Password Manager — only a browser-based web app. But this really isn’t going to bother many people.

Overall, Norton is fast, simple, and easy to use. It will keep you happy whether you’re an absolute antivirus beginner or a total cybersecurity geek.

Norton 360 Mobile App

Norton Mobile Security is available with all 360 plans. However, if you choose Norton 360 Standard, you only get 1 license, so you’ll probably want to use it on a desktop or laptop.

Norton promotes a “free” version of Norton Mobile Security, which nearly made the number 1 spot on my list of the best free antivirus apps for Android — until it turned out to only be a free trial! What happens is you can download the “free” version, and then after a 30-day trial, it will default to the premium version which asks you to pay money to keep using it. But if you are using one of the 360 plans, you already have access to the premium version.

Norton Mobile Security provides the following features:

Malware scanning and real-time malware protection (Android only).

Anti-Theft (Android only).

Wi-Fi Scan.

Web Protection.

Link Guard.

Safe Search.

App Advisor — checks apps for privacy and battery-use issues.

The following features are also available on mobile, but via separate apps:

Norton Password Manager.

Norton Parental Control.

Norton Secure VPN.

I tested Norton Mobile Security on a Galaxy S10e running Android 9.

The first thing I noticed was that Norton Mobile Security has a very simple interface. It shows the features available in the app itself, and it also displays the features that are available via a separate app.

Norton Mobile Security easily detected my test virus — both in real-time and via a malware scan. The App Adviser feature also recognized my antivirus-testing app as malware and tried to warn me not to install or use it.

Other mobile antivirus apps have not been so effective — for example, TotalAV’s real-time protection didn’t detect this virus (although its malware scan did).

When you open a link outside of your browser (for example, via your email app), the Link Guard feature checks whether the destination site is safe. This protects against phishing scams and malicious websites.

Link Guard can integrate with all 6 browsers installed on my device (including Firefox, Chrome, and Brave Browser). The feature worked really quickly, flashing a quick progress bar at the bottom of my display as it verified a site.

The only other issue with Norton Mobile Security is that you need to download separate apps to access the Password Manager, Parental Control, and Secure VPN. This isn’t a big deal, however, as you can access all of your Norton apps via the main menu.

Norton Mobile Security is the fastest, most user-friendly, and most feature-rich antivirus Android app I’ve tested. That said, iOS users get a slightly worse deal without the real-time protection (not needed on iOS) and Anti-Theft (many default iOS apps do this). However, on either device, adding the mobile app is a great reason to upgrade to either Norton 360 Deluxe or 360 Premium.

Norton 360 Customer Support

Norton offers support via:

Phone (available 24/7).

Live chat.

FAQs.

Community support forum.

Norton’s FAQs are comprehensive and well-organized. However, like any long-standing product, Norton has to cater for users of older products, so this can sometimes get confusing when there are a lot of questions to look through.

What’s strange is that Norton doesn’t seem to provide an email support option.

To be fair to Norton, email isn’t a great format for support. Solving a technical problem can take a lot of cooperation between the customer and the agent. However, I like having the option of email.

Testing out the live chat support, I got connected to an agent immediately, who was extremely helpful. He offered to take remote access of my computer to resolve my issue. I declined, so he talked me through my problem instead, step-by-step:

I also called Norton’s helpline a couple of times. The first time, I waited nearly an hour on hold. However, the second time I got through in only a few minutes. On both occasions, Norton’s call handlers were helpful and polite, and they easily answered my questions.

Overall, it’s great to have access to live chat and phone support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I don’t know of many other antivirus companies that offer this level of availability. Norton’s FAQs are also very good. I would really like to have email support as an option, but with so many other great support channels available, it’s not going to be that big of a problem for most users.

Is Norton 360 the Best Antivirus Out There?

After testing more than 70 cybersecurity products, I can safely say that this is probably the best all-around antivirus software out there. Norton’s “360-degree” marketing angle is actually meaningful — it really does all I’ve ever expected my antivirus to do. During this test, it protected my device from pretty much every type of cybersecurity threat I threw to it, on each of its three plans.

If you already have a VPN, password manager, parental controls, and plenty of cloud storage — and you only need antivirus protection — perhaps consider Kaspersky’s entry-level plan, Kaspersky AntiVirus, or take a look at Cylance.

While it’s a great product right now, I hope to see Norton continue to improve this software. The Secure VPN is private and user-friendly, but it’s also very slow. And the Password Manager is really good, but it needs more 2-factor authentication options to compete with top-of-the-range password managers software.

These minor criticisms aside, I’m confident in saying that Norton 360 is the best overall antivirus software available. It has the most impressive Device Security, Cloud Backup, and Parental Control features I’ve ever used, and it has a 100% protection rate against all types of malware.

🆓 Is there a free version of Norton antivirus?

There are some free Norton cybersecurity tools for PC users (no free tools are available for Mac users, unfortunately). These include a virus scanner and a password manager. However, there aren’t any free versions of their most popular products, such as Norton 360.

The free tools offered by Norton are useful, but they won’t fully secure your device — leaving you vulnerable to many different cybersecurity threats. You need one of the premium plans to secure your devices.

🔒 Is LifeLock Included in the Norton software?

Norton’s identity theft protection tool, LifeLock, is included in some of the Norton 360 packages and only in the United States.

Note that LifeLock is not included in the Norton 360 Standard or the Norton 360 Deluxe packages, only packages which explicitly state that LifeLock is included.

Android users need Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) or higher. To use the Norton Family Premier Android app, Android users will only need to have Android version 4.0 installed.

iOS users will need to have iOS 8 or higher installed on their Apple devices.

🛡️ Does Norton scan external hard drives for viruses?

Norton’s antivirus software does scan external hard drives for viruses and other malware threats, during the Full System Scan. Make sure your external hard disk is connected to your PC or Mac before running the Full System Scan.

You can disable the external hard drive scan by creating a Custom Scan.

⌚ How long does the full system scan take?

This is entirely dependent on the number of files on your system. On average, virus scans can take over an hour to complete. However, if you have a large amount of data on your system, the scan will take longer.

Luckily, Norton’s developers have designed the software to make subsequent scans a lot faster — skipping over previously scanned files and only focusing on newer or recently modified files.

Bottom Line

Norton 360 is the best antivirus software I’ve ever used. Every plan provides complete protection against a full range of online threats. From its powerful SONAR antivirus engine to its market-leading Parental Control feature, Norton provides an almost perfect cybersecurity package for every type of customer.

no no

Dreadful company

Mac User

I am 75 years old and the experience that I have had with Norton is the worst experience i have EVER had with any company in my life!! Why would i trust my security to as company that is so messed up and that does not tell it's customers the truth. Watch out this is just a money making machine.

Lost me for good after nearly 10 yrs of using Norton.

Windows User

Went to renew subscription via store bought product, norton refuses to activate without forcing an advance renewal for the coming 12 mth period by credit card. I would be happy to continue using the product, but, I flatly refuse to be dictated to as to when and how I will renew a subcription. Considering I had already paid for a 12mth subscription, it's just a blatant rip off to try and coerce a future payment by not activating the product code until their ridiculous demand is met. I have 8 days left on the current subscription, and then I'll uninstall all Norton products and go with McAfee.

Don’t even think about it

iOS User

I made the mistake of buying it and it crashed my computer and erased my disks. Then they had the gall to ask if I was sure I wanted a refund which they refuse to give me. Erasing the disks was purposefully and I reported it to state and federal Attorney generals. I lost years of backup files and music

terrible overpriced fraudulent billing

Windows User

Program causes repeated interruptions in computing. Viruses missed. And the billing department will continue to charge your credit card after discontinuing service. You end up wasting time getting a refund which never gets replaced on your credit card. Followed by having to call you credit card company to dispute charges.

Norton 2020 SUCKS!!

Windows User

I have been using Norton for over 20 years and the 2020 version absolutely blows!
I renewed a 10 device subscription and it will not let me apply the new subscription to my existing devices. I need to re-install the software and some devices are for my kids who live far away. WTF Norton. Their support is not responding to my messages when I try to contact them.

DO NOT PURCHASE... LIARS &amp; THIEVES

Windows User

I just found out that they are a bunch of thieves... I stated working for my company back in 2014. The person before me I am guessing approved buying this software and had it on an annual auto-renew, Norton had her credit card number. After I started working here we had cancelled her credit card and then I was assigned a new card. Apparently Norton scoped out my credit card number somehow and continued to charge my card every year. When I had cancelled my card and was assigned a new one with a new number, expiration and CVV code (my card had been compromised a few times so we had to cancel and get me new cards), somehow Norton was able to retrieve my new card numbers... EVERY TIME!!! I, nor my IT guy had ordered this program. When I called ...Show More

to find out how they were able to charge my card for so long, this is when I was told they can get access to new cards in order to continue paying for a subscription that we (and the person who I was talking to stated she saw no activity at all for as long as this account was activated...) never used nor downloaded on any of our computers... so I asked her why they would continue to charge every year for a subscription that had absolutely no activity she decided at this time to explain to me about policy. Norton in my opinion sucks... I had used it many, many, many years ago when I first started using a PC back in 2000. Needless to say, I got rid of it. These people are a bunch of liars and thieves... if you have given them a credit card number and no longer wanted the service, make sure that no matter how many times you change your card, make sure you are not being charged without your permission. No matter what, they will continue to scope out your card to continue making you pay for a program you do not want. My suggestion is just don't get it... do not inquire about it, do not plug in your credit card number for a "free trial" because no matter what you do, they will continue to charge your card... no matter how many times you change the card info. (Not to mention the fact that even after no permission is granted to continue they will not refund your money... at least not any more than 60 days.)

Too easy to subscribe, too difficult to unsubscribe

Windows User

I was completely unaware that I even downloaded this program and subscribed to it. It was only when I saw it pop up onto my screen saying my computer is safe. I already had anti-virus and anti-malware on my computer so, whether or not Norton was a great program for information security, software security, internet security, or computer security, I didn't need it. So when I tried to figure out how to unsubscribe, I was lead through a series of loops just to find out the entire scheme was a loop of searching for a way to unsubscribe from the program. Norton didn't cost me anything (yet), but I don't need it or want it, and they have certainly made it quite difficult to get rid of their program from your computer in general on your own, let al...Show More

one trying to contact support to help me unsubscribe. They even tell you that you may have to way several hours just to contact support. This could be the best computer security in the world, but not being able to opt out is pretty scary and discomforting. This program could have 5 stars on all types of security, but if you choose to leave the program, you better be prepared to go on a long-winded journey of disappointment and frustration.

Disappointed Recently

Android User

As far as I know NORTON Cloud storage never worked. II have had. 360 for years. I. Have a brand new computer trying to retrieve my info from my old laptop. I was on hold two hours + yesterday. The online chat lasted for at least an hour. The agent seemed inexperienced. II was left at the "BUY" page. I know they are busy now. They need to take care of faithful customers.
I was promised they would get back to mme- still nothing 20 hours later. I am almost slick thinking I may lose my photos etc.

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Transparency and Trust – We pride ourselves on being the only site where users can freely contribute and share their
reviews on any antivirus with other community members. When you visit an antivirus site we link to, we sometimes get
affiliate commissions that support our work. Read more about how we operate.